Caps Fans, 1-27-07

The "infamous" Kimberly Tongue photo!!

Kimberly and Jason smiling for the cheering fans at Verizon Center
Kimberly and Jason with the Caps lady that made their appearance a reality!


It's always interesting to see who shows up at sporting events especially in D.C., a place that doesn't have the star wattage of places like L.A. or NYC...

Saturday's Caps game, a romp over defending Carolina, had some celebs in the house. What was fun to see was the reaction of the fans when certain people were shown on the big screen scoreboard:

Baltimore Orioles players Adam Loewen and Nick Markakis were booed when shown on the scoreboard telescreen, while D.C. United soccer star Ben Olsen drew cheers from the crowd of 16,924. (from NHL game recap)

D.C. and Baltimore have always had an interesting perception of each other; sometimes the two areas are linked together, other times they don't want to associate with each other. Now that the Nationals are in town, Washingtonians no longer support the O's. But to boo to young O's players? I guess I'm not too surprised. What I am surprised of was the strong and positive reaction fans gave Kimberly McCullough and fellow General Hospital soap star, Jason Thompson during their brief appearance on the Jumbotron late in the 3rd period. I know that they were supposed to be profiled earlier in the period but the flow of the game wouldn't allow that. Not many people approached them in their seats but the second they were on the big screen, there was a line of autograph seekers. Apparently there is a lot of overlap of fans between the Caps and GH. Now that GH stars have visited the Caps, I guess we'll see Ovie or Brashear make an appearance on the soap in the near future?!?

Hockey Song

Sadly, the best thing about watching Friday night's Caps game against Carolina was the action off of the ice. Once again, the theme of the loss was penalties. Hopefully the Caps will play better (and smarter) at home in the Phone Booth on Saturday evening against... the Hurricanes AGAIN!! At least this time Olie will be in goal defending us from the forces of evil! Speaking of evil, guess who's going to be attending the "Hockey Night in D.C." game:


Kimberly McCullough rejoined the cast of General Hospital in October 2005, when the character of Robin Scorpio - now a doctor living in Paris - returns to Port Charles where she is urgently needed. Upon her arrival, she immediately finds herself crossing paths with many friends and family from her past.

That's right... Kimberly and her fellow soap star, Jason Thompson, will be cheering the Caps on to victory. Hopefully when they are on the Jumbotron, they won't give the typical soap opera star looking: staring off into the distance, wondering if they left the oven on. Then again, after the recent performances of the Caps, I would understand if their minds started to wander.

Could Versus have even tried to make the All-Star festivities interesting?! I know that they don't have the audience reach as a major TV network but they could at least get cameras that work or even hire people that have prior experience with these types of events. During both the rapid fire shooting contest and the shootout, the network switched to a camera that showed to employees sweeping the ice. So we have the best hockey players in the world including The Whiner, displaying the speed and grace of this amazing sport but the viewers don't get the chance to see that; instead, we are treated to the thrilling action of Joe and Steve preparing the ice at the opposite end of the rink!

The Kettler IcePlex is B-E-A-utiful... too bad the offices aren't completed yet. Thursday was my first visit out there since the pre-ice days in July. It's amazing to see how much a little paint and ice can change a place. All I need to do now is learn how to skate and I'll be all set!

There's a new team in town, the Chesapeake Tide! 7-on-7 football? I know from personal experience that the Show Place Arena has had trouble keeping a long term sports team. I think that it is a decent facility, just not the ideal location for such a pro sports team to set its roots. I think non-NFL football leagues are a great idea and that there is a market for such a product in this area and I'll try to make it out to a couple of teams. Ambition and a smart business plan should make this a strong team with good fan support. They had over 150 fans show up for their meet the team party this past week.

Thanks to the advice of my dear friend (that never hangs out anymore!), I have decided to open up my eyes and be receptive to the possibility that there might be another woman for me. Apparently, there might be a couple: Beer Girl and CEO Girl have now entered my life! Beer Girl is fun, easy to talk with and has a very relaxed demeanor. Meanwhile, CEO Girl is HOT and also easy to carry a conversation with. If I have time this weekend away from work, I might actually try to spend some time with one of them.

Speaking of new girls, if only there were some device that I could use to display the photo of the beautiful woman in my life.

Love and Sports

Love and sports have a lot in common.

For example, it is more fun to celebrate winning a championship with teammates than by yourself. Look at tennis players, all they can do is fall to the ground and hold their head when they win. But if you look at team celebrations, you have a big dogpile with guys flying in and leaping onto the pile. When something goes well in life, it is nice to share that with friends and family but it is even that much more special to share it with the one, THE ONE, person that you truly care about. Of course, THAT pileup would probably be much more enjoyable!

Another thing that they have in common is that no matter how well you play, you don't always get the result that you want. You can have your plan in place and execute it to a "t", even have the game of your life but you can still come up short on the scoreboard.

Sometimes you play your best but your teammates let you down or aren't following the game plan. Even worse, they are on the same game plan but just can't get the proper rhythm necessary for victory. (Johnny Drama: "VICTORY!!")

Which brings me to my personal anecdote: I have a great match up but it's almost as if halfway through the game we switch between XFL, NFL and college rules each play without anyone notifying my head coach. There is no action; just reaction and questions. I'm at the line, waving my hands and calling audibles just like Mr. Manning but my receivers can't hear me in the noisy dome (figures, my team is always on the road!) and the play clock ticks down quickly. But that's the thing about sports: the competition, the adrenaline, the preparation and the game itself. No matter the sport, each game is different in some way and even if you face a similar situation, the outcome could be radically different. I mean, who says that they aren't interested but then leaves her friends after 12:30 am to meet up with yours truly by herself at a bar that is out of her way, not even close to her path of travel between point A (outing with friends) and point B (her house) to spend some time together talking?!? I mean, I could understand if I owed her money or something, but c'mon! Does anyone have an explanation about this?

Speaking of sports, the WNBA All-Star game is coming to D.C. this summer. I know, I know that it doesn't have the same flare as say the MLB All-Star game (in San Fran this year, NY in 08 and St. Louie in 09) but it does highlight the best players and characters in a league. I encourage people to show up and I think that they will be pleasantly surprised with the quality of play. There are some other developments on the local sports landscape that I think will surprise a lot of people (more to come in an upcoming entry).

Speaking of quality of play, Becks was never considered the best player in the world or even in his own country. He is an amazing footballer but not the best or even the most fit. I think the U.S. equivalent would be A-Rod: a very strong player and great for highlights but isn't going to win championships by himself. Both players have a high Q rating which directly leads to their increased salaries over comparable players with the same skill set. Obviously, Becks raises the MLS's profile on the national and international sports scene but he is on decline as a soccer player. The sad thing about the MLS that no one has mentioned the substandard quality of play; that an over-the-hill, above average player from Europe will easily be one of the top players in this "minor" league as long as he keeps his focus on the field. I don't expect for the media to pick up on this as they are just happy to bask in his glow and sell papers & magazines.

I like my shape

Since I'm trying to stick with my New Year's resolutions, tonight was my first workout of the new year and coincidently, my first work out since knee surgery two months ago. Wow, I'm really out of shape!! My trainer had me in a full sweat ten minutes into the workout and by minute 45, I wanted to fall to the ground and cry. Hopefully workout number two will include a little less pain.

My mood the past two months has been directly linked to the results of Caps games...So with the current bump in our season, I'm not in the greatest of moods but I know that things will start looking up after a win against Montreal tomorrow evening at the phone booth.